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You need a solar angle calculator by zipcode when traveling through Africa

07

Mar

You need a solar angle calculator by zipcode when traveling through Africa

Usually, when people think of going to a music festival in Africa they focus on the music. They hardly think about using a solar angle calculator by zipcode. Well, depending on the location you’re going to, a solar panel or two would be quite handy. You just don’t know when you will need the extra electrical juice.

A lot of people have recently discovered African music. In fact, they have become so enthusiastic about African continental music that many travelers actually go on road trips in Africa. Now, please understand that traveling in Africa is not just a common Safari.

This is the common media portrayal of African travel. You see giraffes on one end and lions from a far distance on the other end, but that’s hardly the case. You actually have to go through specific national preserves to see such a scene. Usually, traveling in Africa is not much different from traveling in South America or Southeast Asia. It’s just getting from point A to point B.

However, if you are going to internally remote places, please understand that there may be electrical infrastructure issues. Put simply, you might not get access to the grid. Even if you end up in a place where there are fixed electrical sources like a socket, there may be rolling brown-outs. Electricity may only be available for a few hours in the day. Some parts of Africa are also prone to heavy winds and rains. These can make electrical availability spotty indeed.

This is a reality check. We’re not candy-coating anything here. This reality applies not just to Africa but also to many parts of the world. What do you do in that situation? What will happen if you’re traveling through Africa and you can’t access electricity?

Thankfully, you can always tap the power of the sun. There are many solar mini-panels available on the market. In fact, many of them have the same footprint as the typical notebook computer. When you buy one of these mini solar panels, you can get enough energy to power your mobile devices or even your laptop computer. If you have enough of these, you can get enough energy to power up lamps and other heavier-duty pieces of camping equipment.

Now, there is one drawback to this. You have to have the right solar angle. While Africa does have a reputation for being a sunny place, you need direct sunlight for optimal solar panel efficiency. This is not always the case. Maybe there are just a lot of trees where you’re going or maybe you are too far up.

You need to work around the solar angle issue. How do you know if you can get enough sun in a particular location? Use a solar angle calculator by zip code. Using this handy tool, you can easily determine what the solar intensity is in a particular area you’re going to and plan accordingly.

This way, you don’t have to worry about powering up your mini solar panels properly. You have planned ahead and your trip will be smoother and easier than if you had not planned.